Hearing deficiencies can range from partial hearing impairment to complete hearing loss. Often, an individual's hearing ability varies across the range of audible sound frequencies, and many individuals have hearing impairment with respect to only select acoustic frequencies. For example, an individual's hearing loss may be greater at higher frequencies than at lower frequencies.
Hearing aids have been developed to compensate for hearing losses in individuals. In some instances, the individual's hearing loss can vary across acoustic frequencies. Conventionally, hearing aids range from ear pieces configured to amplify sounds to hearing devices offering a couple of adjustable parameters, such as volume or tone, often can be easily adjusted, and many hearing aids allow for the individual users to adjust these parameters.
However, hearing aids typically apply hearing aid profiles that utilize a variety of parameters and response characteristics, including signal amplitude and gain characteristics, attenuation, and other factors. Unfortunately, many of the parameters associated with signal processing algorithms used in such hearing aids are not adjustable and often the equations themselves cannot be changed without specialized equipment. Instead, a hearing health professional typically takes measurements using calibrated and specialized equipment to assess an individual's hearing capabilities in a variety of sound environments, and then adjusts the hearing aid based on the calibrated measurements. Subsequent adjustments to the hearing aid can require a second exam and further calibration by the hearing health professional, which can be costly and time intensive.
In some instances, the hearing health professional may create multiple hearing profiles for the user for use in different sound environments. Unfortunately, merely providing stored hearing profiles to the user often leaves the user with a subpar hearing experience. In higher end (higher cost) hearing aid models where logic within the hearing aid selects between the stored profiles, the hearing aid may have insufficient processing power to characterize the acoustic environment effectively in order to make an appropriate selection. Since robust processors consume significant battery power, such devices sacrifice processing power for increased battery life. Accordingly, hearing aid manufacturers often choose lower end and lower cost processors, which consume less power but which also have less processing power.
While it is possible that a stored hearing profile accurately reflects the user's acoustic environment, the user may have no indication that it should be applied. Thus, even if the user could select a better profile, the user may not know how to identify and select the better profile.
In the following description, the use of the same reference numerals in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.